Hearts Burst Into Fire
by DemonWolf11
Summary: Kagome is an Inuyoukai, but is not like the others at all. She is kind and wouldnt hurt anyone unless they were threatening her or a friend's life. What will happen when she finds a certain hanyou, bleeding and broken, in the forest? Rated for death.
1. Chapter 1

Hearts Burst Into Fire

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

I do not own the song Hearts Burst into Fire

When I see your face,

My hearts burst into fire,

Hearts burst into fire…

"_No, stop it, please! Leave him alone! You're going to kill him!" A young, probably 5 year old girl cried out in desperation. Her hair was a dark raven color, falling gently down her back in soft waves. Her eyes were large, chocolate-y brown orbs that were filled with terror and helplessness. The girl pushed through the crowd of sneering humans, getting to the front unscathed, aside from a few lone scratches and possibly a bruise or two. But those would be gone by tomorrow, seeing as being a youkai had its perks. _

"_Get away from him," The girl growled, though the growl sounded anything but threatening, as she spread her arms out at her side, seemingly trying to protect him. But everyone knew that she would probably go down faster than the boy behind her did, seeing as she had no past in fighting. "It's not his fault he was born a hanyou," She whispered brokenly. "He can't help what he is." The only reason that the girl knew he was hanyou was because of his scent. She was an inu-youkai, or a dog demon. She couldn't help her enhanced sense of smell. _

_Her normally gentle gaze hardened in determination as she glared at the mob of people in front of her. "Go away and leave us alone. You're only doing this because you have nothing better to do than to pick on kids," She growled. _

"_Go back to your mother, Kagome, and let us be. You don't have anything at all to do with this," One of the men from the village sneered threateningly at her. "Just because Lady Kana is your mother doesn't mean we accept you. You're still part youkai and everyone knows it."_

"_Go…away!" She gritted out, her deep eyes flashing red for a moment before returning to the chocolate-y hue they normally were. Like all, or rather most, youkai, she hated when her pack, or family, was talked badly about. And like those youkai, she did what she could to protect her pack._

_The village men snickered and sneered at the Inuyoukai and Inu-hanyou before slowly sauntering away, calling out insults at the young, yet so fiercely determined girl, "Lady Kana won't always be around to protect you, youkai," The leader of the group howled. "She'll grow old and weak while you stay young and helpless. When she dies, you'll be alone. No one to protect you then once she's dead; you'll be killed shortly after she's gone, no worries. At least you won't be apart from the youkai lover too long, will you?" Although she should be used the horrid taunts and sneers, she wasn't and she never would be. _

_While Kagome was said to be a full demon, no one could prove it—not even herself. Her mother, Lady Kana, was only a hanyou because as a young girl, she had run into the forest after her village was attacked and everyone was slain by a rabid Inuyoukai pack. There, she was found by a dark priestess who was set on making her mother her apprentice. When Lady Kana refused over and over, the dark priestess got frustrated, and to make Kana miserable, she cast a spell and made her a hanyou, using Kagome's mother as a test experiment. Well, not exactly—while Lady Kana didn't look anything like a hanyou or act as a hanyou, every full moon she would change into a full blood-thirsty youkai. Lady Kana also didn't have an extended life, and there was no perks to being a hanyou for her, only disappointment over and over. No one knew what exactly Lady Kana was and she was attentively accepted her into the village. Whenever the night before the full moon came along, she would run into the forest beside the village, doing her best to keep the villagers safe. It was during one of those times that Lady Kana met Kagome's father, a full Inuyoukai. Her father was killed shortly after Kagome was born, protecting his family against a pack of wolf youkai. Lady Kana and Kagome escaped, thinking he would come after them when he was finished with the pack, but to Lady Kana's horror, she found him dead the next morning. After burying him, she went back to the village, taking Kagome with her. _

_That being said, no one knew what she was, besides perhaps her mother, if she could ever find out what she herself was. Another thing that made the villagers doubt she was a full youkai was the fact that Kagome had never changed into her true demon form, the form of an Inuyoukai. More than that, Kagome had puppy ears, and every Inuyoukai she or any of the villagers had met, did not. Most believed that Kagome was 2/3 Inuyoukai, 1/3 human, and only 1/3 human because she never changed into her human form… though there were some nights that she seemed weaker than usual, she always looked the same. _

_Pulling herself from her thoughts, Kagome sent the last villagers death glares as the last of them ran off into the trees. She turned her gaze, now broken and understanding, on the hanyou that was crouched and tensed in front of her. She had never dealt with a tense human, much less a hanyou. She had been taught by her mother some herbs and cures so far, and within the next few weeks, she'd be learning to fight. Kagome wondered if she should go get her mother, let her deal with the hanyou, while she watched, but decided against it. 'I've got to make Mother proud of me.' She decided. She reached out a delicately clawed hand slowly, and the agonized hanyou flinched away from her touch. _

_She had been expecting that, but decided to make sure she wouldn't be waiting around for nothing. Like all hanyou and youkai, he'd of course become defensive. He, like all demons, wouldn't want to show any weakness to another demon, especially if the demon was injured. _

"_Hold still," Her calm, bell-like voice rang out, retreating a bit so her back was leaning against a tree, her legs at her chest, as she watched him. He was doing nothing but irritating the wounds. "You're just going to open your wounds even more." She explained as he sent her a cautious look. _

_At that time, the hanyou took the time to see what his savior looked like, while thinking. 'She can't be too harmful to me right?' He asked himself as he took in her long waving hair, rolling down her back like a waterfall. She was beautiful, really. Her deep, liquid brown eyes shown out against her pale skin, and he grudgingly relaxed a bit at his next thought. 'More so, she doesn't seem to want to hurt me.'_

_At the same time that the boy was evaluating her, she was evaluating him. His long silver locks hung down his back and his large golden eyes were thoughtfulness and fierce determination. The silver-haired boy relaxed against the tree he had hauled himself over to and relaxed completely. "Fine," His voice grated out coldly. "You can help me."_

"_Good. I was hoping you would let me." She said just as quietly as she walked over and began examining his wounds. None of them were life threatening, thankfully, but he had to be in intense pain. "What's your name? I'm Kagome." She breathed out as she began to tend to his wounds, starting with the most serious then gradually moving to the already healing scratches. _

"_Feh," The hanyou muttered, not exactly wanting to tell her, but he figured he owed her that much. "Inuyasha," He growled gruffly. Kagome didn't mind his brief, unsocial responses. She was too thrilled to have some talking to her, other than her mother, and not attempting to insult her. _

"_Kagome…!" A voice cried somewhere in the forest. The two pairs of puppy ears both flicked at the sound and Kagome jumped to her feet, turning to grab Inuyasha's hand to go greet her mother, and introduce them, but her hand only met thin air. 'Inuyasha..? Where did you go?' Kagome had been intent on introducing her mother to her new friend, but now, she could not. 'Inuyasha… why did you run off?'_

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

A girl, probably about the age of 15 shot up in her make-shift bed, a lone, miserable tear sliding down her cheek. She was struggling to control her ragged breaths and fast pumping heart. Taking a deep breath, she reprimanded herself. 'I need to calm down. This is nothing to cry over. _He's _nothing to cry over,' she told herself mentally. The girl hadn't seen her friend in years. Too many years to count, really, and she hadn't thought about him this much counting all the time put together than she was now. With a slight growl of annoyance, she caught the scent of frustration, determination, and excitement on the wind. That meant she had to get moving soon, or she'd be caught and killed by the hands of humans.

Everything that went wrong in villages was always blamed on youkai or hanyou. It was always the same, 'Oh, someone stole all my valuables! It must be that youkai that's just passing through!' or 'That's the hanyou that burnt the village down last time! Get it!' And the second example is exactly what was happening with her this time. Of course, she didn't massacre and burn down the village; she was passing by, smelled the blood, and went to investigate. There, she was seen by the last survivor, a young man, eyes filled with greed rather than fear or disgust. He had gone to a neighboring village, and now the man and the second village were trailing her, intent on killing her for something she had no part in.

With a yawn, she judged by their scent how close they were to her. She had enough time to get something to eat and take a quick bath before she would have to run again. She wasn't going to go kill innocent people because of a mere misunderstanding. Soon enough, they would give up and go home, and then she'd be free to relax for a while until she came upon another misfortune and was framed as the villain once more.

Once she finished her bath and ate her food, she was on the move, clutching her bow tightly in her hand and hiking the arrows on her shoulder, she closed her eyes and judged how close the human men were to her. Her eyes snapped open in surprise and she looked behind her, mouth gaping open slightly, before a growl escaped her throat. How had she _not _noticed that they were right behind her, charging on their horses right towards her, spears aimed and guns ready to be fired?

Instantly, she took off at a sprint, adrenaline rushing through her veins, urging her on. Of course, she could easily take them all on, and win... probably, but she didn't want to kill innocent beings.

She clutched the bow closer to her, willing herself not to crush it. After all, it had been her mothers, Lady Kana's, last gift to her before she died in the fire. Kagome had honestly did everything in her power to help the people escape, and thankfully she had gotten most of the children who were stuck in burning homes safely out of the village before the huts collapsed, killing the children. She had also gone back for women and men who were stuck inside, along with desperately searching for her mother's scent. Alas, the scent of smoke and burning wood and blood over clouded any scent of a certain person, and all she could do was hope that her mother had gotten out of the village safely. Kagome had been gone the past few days traveling, searching for a new place to live, seeing as she was certainly old enough to look after herself, and she didn't want to risk hurting anyone. When she went back to look through the village remains, she found nothing, not even a scent of her mother lingering in the air. When she found her, she appeared to have dragged herself into the forest in a futile attempt to save herself. Lady Kana handed her the first bow she had ever owned and passed after a few sweet, cooing words.

Kagome grew desperate as she realized where she was running towards, and looked around her. Behind her to her left and right were warriors gaining on her as she slowed down and directly behind her were even more warriors, catching up quickly. It was like she was being herded into the forest on purpose. The forest where she first met Inuyasha, and also the forest where she had last seen her mother alive—that was where she was being forced. With another growl, she forced herself to run faster again, heart beating painfully fast as memories flashed before her eyes; memories of pain, of happiness, of terror, of excitement… memories of her past. It felt like every time an image would appear, someone was electrocuting her.

Suddenly, she stopped dead in her tracks, staring stupidly up at one certain tree. The tree she had met Inuyasha at. The tree her mother had died under; the tree that Inuyasha was now pinned to, hanging limply by an arrow through his chest. Realizing that she had stopped, she began to lean forward to begin her sprint once again, only to realize that she was thoroughly surrounded.

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Growling, the black haired girl's eyes flashed red before she controlled herself. She, like any other hanyou or youkai, _hated _being cornered, surrounded, or just over all trapped. "I suggest you step back," She snarled, crouching down a bit in a defensive position, "…unless you would like your worthless lives ended by my hands." For a moment, she was thankful that she had enough sense to put on her fighting clothes today, and not her kimono.

Suddenly a loud bang sounded behind her and before she could even think about dodging, a sharp pain stabbed her in her side, making her stumble forwards a bit, letting out a pained hiss. "That actually hurt," The young girl snarled, whirling on the person who had just shot her, pain piercing her side at every move she made.

Not even 5 minutes later, the scent of blood was nearly over-powering, though it was mostly her blood. Her breathing was shallow and ragged and she had several wounds on her body that were all oozing blood. As soon as she had turned on the man who had fired first, several archers fired their arrows at her. And when she whirled at them, men rode up next to her and slashed her with swords, opening wounds that were desperately trying to heal, causing her to howl in pain. She desperately didn't want to hurt these people, but it seemed that if she wanted to live to see the light of tomorrow, she would be forced to. Except, there was one problem: she couldn't do that in this condition.

"**Kill them…" **a voice inside her head growled and her eyes flashed red, and this time, they stayed red as she willingly let her demon third take over. "**Die…" **The demon's voice was cold and heartless and it willingly slashed at the men with her growing claws, staining her clothes and face in blood. Kagome's mind went blank and she couldn't think, didn't feel anything except joy from killing the yelling men. She felt her fangs grow and she snarled hands up, ready to strike as she snarled threateningly. **"Just try to run… None of you will get away alive…" **The same, emotionless voice snarled.

Unknown to Kagome, a certain hanyou was gradually gaining consciousness at the overwhelming youkai presence. His piercing golden eyes were blurry at first but slowly locked on the form of a surprisingly familiar girl. His eyes widened as he realized that it was, in fact, the girl that he had met all of those years ago as a child… only this time, she was grown, and even more beautiful than the last time he saw her, even with the blood red eyes, extended claws and long fangs and covered in blood. "Ka…gome..?" He wondered out loud, wondering if this was all an illusion.

He watched in slight interest as she killed the warriors skillfully. She _had _grown strong, as well as beautiful, not that he would ever admit that. The teenage-looking hanyou watched as the girl's ear flicked towards him in acknowledgment, before completely freezing. Her eyes became a pale pink before they turned normal and her fangs and claws shrunk. She winced in pain and looked back at the hanyou. "Inu…yasha…" She coughed, before barely dodging an arrow that was flying in her direction. Unknown to her, another arrow was flying the direction she had just leaped towards and it effectively hit her in her shoulder, causing her to cry out in pain. The pain hadn't nearly been as bad in her demon form.

Inuyasha stiffened at the scent of her blood on the wind and struggled to free himself from the arrow so he could help her fight them. "Kagome… get rid of the arrow." He demanded, and she stumbled toward him, off balance, nearly falling and Inuyasha steadying her, before she could pull the arrow out of his chest, using a lot of her energy. She was quite thankful that Lady Kana had been a priestess or else she wouldn't have been able to touch the arrow.

Inuyasha regarded her carefully for a moment before stepping between the warriors and Kagome, just as she collapsed against the tree, whimpering occasionally in pain. Inuyasha quickly, wasting no time, finished off the remaining warriors before turning back to Kagome. Her eyes were closed and her body was tense, in obvious pain. He thought back to all those years ago. They were in this same position, only the roles were switched. Kagome was hurt and losing blood fast, and he was unsure what to do.

Take her to the village and forget about his pride? Or leave her here to die? No… she had saved him and he would do the same for her, no matter how much it hurt his ego. He began to pace anxiously as he realized that she was now unconscious. He made up his mind, and, casting one last glance at the youkai on the verge of death, before sprinting off, leaving the girl unprotected.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

I do not own the song Hearts Burst into Fire.

You're not alone

I know I'm far from home

Do you remember me at all?

The silver haired male flew through the trees, fear burning in his veins. The closest person to have ever been his friends was on the verge of dying, and, if she did, he would have no one to relate with. All those years he lived in wonder if she was still even alive, and now he knew: he wasn't going to let her die right when he finally sees her again. For years and years before he was pinned to the tree, he searched and sought out for her, but every time he found a hint, it would never lead him to the right place. Now he had her, and he wasn't willing to let go. Not yet, he wasn't, not ever.

"Lady Kaede, a demon in the village!" Someone cried causing even more screams and cries to fill the air, hurting Inuyasha's strained ears.

Inuyasha rounded a corner at full speed, nearly running face first into a short old lady who had a bow in her hand. "Inuyasha, it's ye." She said, surprise displayed in her eyes clearly. "I thought ye were pinned to the Sacred Tree," Inuyasha didn't answer, instead grabbed the old priestess' arm and began pulling her into the forest, ignoring the objecting cries of the villagers thinking he was out to kill their priestess. He growled whenever someone got close.

"I'm not going to hurt the old hag," He snarled loud enough for everyone to hear, before once again dragging Kaede along behind him. "Hurry up," He growled, but, seeing as she wasn't hurrying at all, he hauled the old priestess on his back and took off.

It only took a matter of minutes for him to 'fly' through the forest and reach Kagome again. He let Lady Kaede down and she scurried over to the unconscious girl and quickly got to work, occasionally sending Inuyasha away for some herbs or other supplies she might need. After at least an hour and a half, Kaede was finishing wrapping bandages around the last of the deeper wounds. "There ye go, child," She murmured before looking towards Inuyasha, standing up, and brushing off her clothes. "She should be alright, as long as she doesn't reopen her wounds. Ye should keep an eye on the girl," Lady Kaede sighed as she looked around at the long dead warriors. "And maybe get her someplace warmer…cleaner." With a last glance at the beaten and broken girl, she walked away, clutching her own bow in her hand.

Inuyasha nodded, adding on a "Feh," before walking over to the still unconscious Kagome. Instead of moving Kagome to some cave or someplace that was probably safer, he leapt into the Sacred Tree; the tree he had been pinned to only hours ago. Much to the silver-haired hanyou's discomfort, he noticed that it was once again getting dark out. Dark _and _cold, he noted, and hopped from the tree, effortlessly picking up Kagome, who was now half-awake and clutching onto him, and he took off into the darkening forest. He came to a cave and looked down, only to come face-to-face with a fully awake Inuyoukai. Her endless orbs gazed at him curiously and it was obvious, even to him, that she was itching to ask tons of needless questions.

"Feh," He sighed. "Go ahead and ask your questions," He mumbled out as he set the girl on the fur that had been placed on the floor, probably by the last occupant. Judging by the scent, the demon hadn't been here in over 7 months. He was certain they were safe, there was little to no chance of the demon coming home and seeing the two Inu's in his home.

Inuyasha, being his usual self, instead of staying with the girl and watching over her, walked back out of the cave, saying nothing to the silent girl. He sent a fleeting glance towards the cave entrance before sprinting off into the forest once again in the search for food.

Kagome listened silently as the Inu-hanyou left the cave, but dared not to say a word. After he left, she turned her head tiredly to look at the entrance of the cave just in time to see his fleeting glance towards the cave—towards her—before he disappeared into the forest. With a pained sigh, the black-haired girl sat up and examined her wounds. They were starting to heal, thanks to that one old woman's care. She had been half-awake-half-asleep when she had been worked on. Thanks to the old woman's help, her wounds wouldn't get infected and they would heal faster because her body didn't have to fight off any infections like it usually had to. But, even though they were healing faster than usual, it didn't mean she would be any less stiff the next few days.

Stumbling to her feet she walked—no, more like tripped—her way over to the cave entrance. She scented the air and her ears flicked and strained but there was no sign of danger. The scent of blood in the air—her blood—was overwhelming to her sensitive nose. Ears back, she stumbled out of the cave, eyes flickering around her. It seemed safe enough.

She slid down the rocky cave wall, eyes drooping. The smell of blood was still strong, but it wasn't enough to chase her away from her current home when there was a possibility that Inuyasha, the boy she saved all those years ago, might come back… and since she was hurt, it wasn't smart to move around, leaving the scent of blood everywhere. Being ¾ demon, she was just as targeted as hanyou were. She would be tracked and killed; there was no question about that. The scent of her blood was already strong enough, and it would probably attract some demons soon. If she moved around instead of resting and concentrating on her wounds, again, there was no chance for her.

Deciding on the smarter of the choices, she let her eyes completely close, and felt herself quickly drift into a pain-induced sleep.

_Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

Ears flicking, the ¾ demon girl opened her eyes, blinking and looking around through blurry eyes. "Inu...yasha?" She called out, certain that it was her hanyou coming back._ Her _hanyou? No, that came out wrong—she had only talked to him twice in her life. _The _hanyou was more like it. Upon hearing no reply, she limped to her feet, ears back, eyes searching, but her blood covered up almost all scents that could have helped her figure out what had awaken her. She was extraordinarily stiff, and that didn't help at all, but most of the wounds were healed, and the ones that weren't would be healed by tomorrow morning. How long had she slept? And how come Inuyasha wasn't back? Did he decide he had helped her enough by finishing off those human warriors and decide to just take off? She wouldn't doubt it, that's what had happened last time. He left with no warning.

Suddenly a flash of black and brown was shooting towards her. As the blur got closer, at an amazing speed, she caught the scent of a wolf demon. Her breath caught in her throat at the memory flashing before her eyes. The memory of the night her father was killed. Anger welled inside her and her eyes adjusted due to the adrenaline rushing through her veins.

Normally, she wouldn't remember that memory, since she had only been a few days old. Even youkai don't have that skill. She only remembered it because of some priestess that had detested her when she was younger had witnessed the act of murder, didn't even think of helping the youkai, and then later showed her, against her will of course. On accident, driven by rage, she had killed the poor priestess, ripped her to shreds in her blinding anger. She could hear, smell, and feel everything her father had heard, smelled and felt from the time her family was attacked till the time he was killed.

Once again being driven by rage, she snarled as her brown orbs met blue. She had no clue where she had put her bow, and she never learned to use her…youkai powers, powers like that Blades of Blood that Inuyasha had used. The wolf youkai was rather handsome, but she couldn't forget that her father was ruthlessly murdered for no reason by wolf youkai, even if he had tried to befriend her. He had tanned skin, black hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. She didn't know how long they stood there, staring at each other, Kagome seething with rage, the wolf boy staring at her silently… adoringly? She shuddered at the thought; the wolf man better not like her.

Only seconds later, two more wolf youkai appeared from the bushes, huffing and panting for air, along with a few wolfs. The memory kept flashing before her eyes, and her eyes glinted in emotional pain. The picture changed, and in her father's place was her and in the place of the pack of wolves was the blue-eyed wolf man and his two friends, along with the wolves. The setting, however, didn't change. It felt like someone had just stabbed a knife through her stomach and out her back as she realized that, in the very spot she was standing, was the place where her father was killed. Was the past about to be re-lived? She could always run—she had nothing to protect, except her life—but could she really bring herself to dishonor her family by running away from the pack of wolves? This is what she had always wanted, ever since that day she had been shown the memory, wasn't it?

Kagome decided to stay—it's not like she could out run the leader of the three, anyways, not while she was wounded. No words were exchanged, but their eyes said it all. They both charged at each other; slashing with claws, punching, and even kicking. Her movements were quick, but not quick enough. She pieced together that the wolf leader had one of those jewel shards that she had heard about, since no one could ever be as quick as he was. While his friends stayed still, just watching, still puffing for breath, the actual wolves were dancing around her, snapping at her bare feet, ankles and legs, making it even more difficult. It was all she could do to block his attacks… most of them at least.

"What are you doing here?" The wolf youkai growled, but he didn't let up his attacking. Her wounds were opening up again, and blood began to seep through her torn and ragged kimono.

"Am I not allowed h-here?" She panted, dodging a swift punch that probably would have thrown her backwards and knocked her out.

"No, you're not," The wolf didn't seem the least bit tired or in pain-it irked her. However, she couldn't attack while playing defensive. "This is a sacred spot for my pack, it was where my father killed an Inuyoukai that had been stealing from our pack and nearly made us all starve to death," He smirked at the stricken look on her face, just after the word 'Inuyoukai' escaped his mouth. She froze, nearly losing her footing and falling to the ground. She _wanted_ to fall to the ground; she wanted to break down crying.

"Father…" The black haired Inuyoukai whimpered brokenly. A new light entered her eyes and she raised her head so she could stare straight into the wolf prince's blue eyes. "I will avenge you," She said strongly.

"You expect to defeat me like tha—?" His sentence was cut short by his two friends.

"Koga, look out; behind you!" They cried desperately, just as Kagome caught sight of a certain hanyou. Koga, the wolf demon, moved to dodge whatever was coming at him, but was too slow and surprised and was hit with was called 'Iron Reaver Soul Stealer'. Kagome was happy but upset, both at the same time. _She _had intended to get revenge on the wolf pack, but Inuyasha was going to chase him away. But she was happy that Inuyasha had come back.

It didn't take too long before Koga and his friends fled, and Kagome dropped to the ground, right over the spot where her father had been slain. "Not today," She mumbled to the empty spot. "I'm sorry. Not today; you won't get avenged today, father." To Inuyasha, it seemed as if she was in a trance, and in a way, she was.

She didn't move, didn't blink as he crouched down and peered curiously at her face. "Keh, are you alright? You shouldn't have tried fighting him yourself." He told her, his voice cold and accusing while his voice was soft and understanding.

"Huh? What? Oh right, sorry. Fine," Kagome whispered, standing up from her spot on the ground, her eyes glazed over. The Inuyoukai looked dazed and helpless to Inuyasha, and she proved him right as she stumbled and fell towards the ground unblinkingly. Inuyasha caught her quickly and helped her walk back to the cave.

Kagome collapsed to the ground, feeling returning to her body and her eyes filled with anger. "Why did you come and save me?" She shouted, stumbling to her feet. "Why? I could have beaten him myself, and gotten revenge for my father!" The raven haired girl seethed in fury. The golden-eyed hanyou got defensive, but took a step back nonetheless. No reason to upset her anymore than she already was, he figured.

"Feh," He coughed. "I'm sorry for trying to keep you safe and from getting killed. I should have just left you there to be killed!" He spat, although he didn't mean it at all.

The Inuyoukai's eyes softened and she looked down towards her knees. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you. You meant no harm; you were just trying to help." She whispered before crawling over to the fur-bed and curling up on her side. "Thank you for saving me, Inuyasha," She mumbled quietly. "I was just... so angry. I finally found the son of the leader of the pack who killed… who killed my father… I was so set on revenge… I thought I could take him by myself, even while I was still injured." Inuyasha carefully crouched down on the fur-bed beside the emotionally-distressed girl.

"Inuyasha… thank you… so much," Kagome surprisingly reached up and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Inuyasha, at first, tensed and didn't move, until a few moments later, he realized that she was just hugging him, not going to hurt him, and he gently rested his arms around her waist protectively.

"Keh… no problem," He murmured, feeling himself completely relax. "I couldn't just leave you to die, could I? You're the first friend I ever had, aside from my mother…" He trailed off, clutching the girl closer to him.

"Am I?" She wondered out loud before she felt her eyes droop closed and she drifted into a relaxed sleep.

__

Kagome woke with a start, wrapped tightly in someone's arms. Her first instinct was to struggle—try to get away—and she did. If she had been around others more often, her reaction may have been different—to stop and think, try to remember. But it didn't matter; a soft, possessive growl stopped her in her tracks and she was cuddled closer. The growl seemed to trigger her memories and yesterday's events came rushing back to her and she almost immediately relaxed in Inuyasha's grip, feeling him nuzzle his face in her neck. The hanyou growled in affection as she submitted to him but let go of her anyways and sat up.

"Inuyasha," Kagome yawned tiredly, stretching, as she too sat up, ears flicking instinctively. The silver-haired hanyou didn't look at her, as he was staring out of the cave, but she knew he was listening, since his ears flicked in her direction. "How long are we going to be staying here?" She asked. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay longer or hurry up and leave.

"As long as it takes for you to heal," Inuyasha told her, sending her a surprised glance. "Did you think I would force you to move when you were hurt?" To Kagome, he sounded a bit hurt. How was she supposed to know? This was only the second time she had even seen him; once when they were both merely children and… now. She knew almost nothing about him, other than he was a hanyou, an outcast, and he was an _inu_-hanyou.

"No…" Kagome answered hesitantly. "I thought you might want to hurry and keep moving. You don't have to wait for me…" She trailed off, then added, as an afterthought, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"It's nothing Kagome." He answered pleasantly. Was it just her or did he get a lot nicer? It didn't matter to the raven-haired outcast; however, she was actually quite glad that he wasn't his usual self, if she was even sure what he usually acted like. Judging from the night he first met him, he _had _gotten nicer.

The two stayed there for a week and a half, Inuyasha never letting Kagome out of his sight unless she was safe in the cave, when he went out hunting for food [still, however, the hanyou never ran off too far], or Kagome went to the hot springs. Even then, he would sit in a tree, just out of view of Kagome, watching for threats, then, when he heard her coming back, he would run back to the cave. Somehow unknown to him, she never found out. Or she just didn't care. Either way, he was glad. He'd rather not get her mad at him for trying to keep her safe.

"You ready to go, Inu?" An ebony-haired inu-youkai asked chirpily, shuffling out of the cave. That was another thing, in the last week and a half, Kagome had stopped calling the hanyou 'Inuyasha' and now settled for 'Inu'.

Inuyasha had been surprised the first time she called him that. No one had called him that since… well, never. He had never had a nickname unless you considered 'disgusting hanyou' or 'filth' a nickname.

"Keh," He responded, not to Kagome's surprise. She had come to understand that the hanyou was not one to speak often. They began their journey, silent, both of them lost in thought. This proved to be a problem, though, as they both walked into a very youkai-hating human village. There were yells from the men, and screams and cries from the women and children.

"Youkai," The yelled, grabbing torches, arrows and other potential weapons and charging towards the two youkai as the women ushered the children into safety. Inuyasha instantly snarled, his instincts telling him to protect his "pack".

It only took Kagome a moment for her to realize: this wasn't your normal human village. They had way more weapons, for one, and they were actually _almost _worthy opponents, she would later find out.

The men—and one girl, Kagome was surprised to see—kept launching attack after attack at the two, who barely managed to dodge them. "Come on, Inu. Hurry," The inu-youkai growled out, narrowly ducking her head to escape an injury from a boomerang.

"Protect… pack," He roared, and Kagome realized that his eyes had bled red.


End file.
